Dr. Dawn Batts has over two decades of experience, analyzing business opportunities,
developing and implementing strategic plans, and managing their subsequent operations
and compliance processes. Her diverse professional experiences and research have led to
her solutions-based approach in addressing the myriad of factors causing the economic
disparity between women and men.

As the Director of Growth Capital for Tech Town — Detroit’s entrepreneurial hub —
Dawn secures and aligns resources that help Detroit-based entrepreneurs achieve the
vision and goals of their businesses. She also manages the Catalyst Angel Program which
trains, mentors, and engages emerging underrepresented angel investors in the Great
Lakes Region.  She extends her work as co-founder of Commune Angels, a diverse
community of investors who seed scalable consumer, enterprise and life science companies
that transform lives.

Dawn has served on a variety of local and national non-profit boards. She currently serves
as a director on the Michigan Early-Stage Venture Investment Corporation Board and a
board member of the Angel Capital Association.

Dawn has a B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University, her MBA from the Ross
School of Business at the University of Michigan, and her PhD in Anthropology from Wayne
State University.

Matt Baxter, CEO of Wedge, is a serial entrepreneur. He started his first business at 15, owning
and operating Stony Pointe Lawn Care before selling the company in July 2015. Stemming from
his experience recruiting and hiring employees for this business, Matt created Wedge.

Under Matt’s leadership, Wedge has become the modern recruiting platform that makes hiring
personalized. To provide customers with richer capabilities, Matt has led the development and
growth of Wedge’s partner program with leading ATS integrations. By helping meet the
challenges of remote hiring, Wedge has become an essential solution for many companies. An
industry leader, Wedge was named to the Cloud Awards Shortlist for Best Cloud HR/HRMS
Solution, recognized by Aptitude Research as a Provider to Watch, and selected as a Purpose
Jobs’ Top Startup to Watch.

Matt speaks and moderates panel discussions at national and regional talent acquisition
industry conferences. Matt hosts “The Matt Baxter Show,” dedicated to people finding their
purpose. The show is an opportunity to have conversations spanning purpose-related topics
with people who love what they do every day. He is also the co-author of “The Hiring Knot,” a
newly published book that takes a practical informative look at modern recruiting.

Having graduated from Hope College, Matt has deep roots in Michigan. He serves as Vice Chair
for the Board of Directors at the Michigan Center for Economic Innovation, was included in the
Grand Rapid Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2021, received the Wedgewood Christian
Services Diversity Award, and most recently, was named an Inspiring Leader by Inspiring
Workplaces.

Matt Bower is a partner with Varnum LLP and leads the firm’s Ann Arbor office. He serves as outside general counsel to a wide range of emerging and middle market companies. His industry concentrations include software, SaaS, information technology, IoT, data analytics and other technology-based
companies, as well as manufacturing, automotive, advanced materials, pharma, medical devices, publishing, digital advertising and media, retail, and food and beverage.

Diane Durance joined Michigan Capital Network as Executive Vice President in August 2021.
Immediately prior to joining MCN, she was the director of the Center for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington for five years. She began her
career as an entrepreneur launching and growing three companies, including a
telecommunications engineering firm, a contract publishing company, and a residential
construction business. She founded an aquaculture venture in 2013 and was a finalist in the
global Fish 2.0 venture forum for sustainable seafood. Prior to her work in North Carolina, she
was president of Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ), a Michigan non-profit organization
supported by the state to connect early-stage technology ventures with funding opportunities
through support services, competitions, publications, and events. She was the executive director
of Mi-Light, Michigan’s photonics industry association; served as an officer and board member of
Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association and New Enterprise Forum; on the MTEC
SmartZone board of advisors in the Upper Peninsula; was active in MichBio; and served as the
Michigan chapter chair for the global Women Presidents’ Organization. She began her work with
technology startups in Ann Arbor and with faculty spinouts from the University of Michigan in
2005 as president of the Ann Arbor IT Zone. She holds a BBA and MPA, both from Southern
Methodist University.

Dave Hartmann is a Mentor In Residence Emeritus with the UM
office of Innovation Partnerships where he was in the first cohort of
Mentors in Residence in 2008 where he has focused new company
formation advisory and first time C level mentoring.

As an Angel investor and Venture Limited Partner investor, Dave
served as the President of Ann Arbor Angels from 2013 to 2016, and
is a member of the Michigan Angel Fund. More than 100 portfolio
companies have received investment and grown their team through
his angel, pre-seed, seed, and venture investment activities.

Dave is the former CEO and founder of Avail Networks, a venture
backed broadband equipment company sold to Eastern Research
and Sycamore Networks in 2006.  He served as CTO of Network
Express, a boot strapped internet equipment company, from its
founding, through its NASDAQ IPO and acquisition. Before
becoming an entrepreneur, Dave led advanced product development
for Bell Northern Research.

Currently serving on the BOD of several early-stage businesses,
Dave is an evangelist for entrepreneurship and the creation of new
businesses resulting in net new jobs and wealth.

Mark is a founding member of Capital Community Angel Investors (CCAI), a Lansing based group formed
in 2007. He has served in a variety of roles for CCAI including as board member, President, Treasurer
and Secretary. In addition, he has participated in Michigan Angel Funds I through V.

His professional career was as a CPA (as an EY Partner and later as co‐founder of Andrews Hooper Pavlik
PLC). He also has significant board experience for both profit and not for profit organizations, including
a Fortune 500 company, a clinical stage drug development company (board chair), and as
President/Chair of eight not for profit entities.

Kathleen joined Plymouth Growth in 2023 as a Principal and is involved in all
aspects of the firm’s investing activities. Previously, Kathleen served as
Investment Director at Vistara Growth. As a senior member of the fund’s
investment team, she focused on providing tailored capital solutions to growth
stage software and technology companies.

Prior to working as an investor, Kathleen spent 10 years as an operator at two
New York City based technology startups where she led a number of different
functions including Finance, Strategy, Operations, and Product. Kathleen
began her career as an investment banker at UBS.

Kathleen earned her doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership from
Northeastern University. She earned her MBA from Columbia University as
well as both her Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in
Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Accomplished CEO with over 25 years of experience developing, building and growing high tech, software and IT companies. As a seasoned CEO, I draw upon a unique blend of vision, strategic thinking, communication and execution skills to turn around and put companies on the high growth track. I have the technical and financial background to guide the business to meet its objectives and extensive experience in raising capital, acquisitions and delivering successful investor exits.

I enjoy the customer-facing side of business, spending time with clients and prospects developing the company’s strategy, value proposition and competitive positioning. I lead with a results-driven approach and communication style that helps my team deliver strong growth and accomplish extraordinary results.

My background and skills include:
– Raising over $50 million in private equity and venture capital financing
– Articulating a clear vision, strategy and execution plan to employees, customers and investors
– Building high performance, accountable executive teams that deliver results
– Driving revenue growth with a hands-on approach to sales & marketing
– Bringing a strong technical background in software, hardware & service delivery to product development
– Captivating audiences as an energetic public speaker with a credible, informative speaking style

Ms. Leahy concentrates her practice in corporate and business law. She counsels both established and
emerging businesses on general corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, compliance with securities
regulations, and issues involving venture capital funding.

Ms. Leahy is chair of Bodman’s executive management committee.

Ms. Leahy has drafted and negotiated transactional documents for both publicly and privately held entities
involved in mergers and acquisitions ranging in size from $250,000 to more than $1 billion. She has drafted
and negotiated operating and joint venture agreements and advised corporate boards in connection with
various transactions. She has also advised clients on entity formation, corporate governance and other
general business issues. Ms. Leahy has significant experience working with the University of Michigan’s
Technology Transfer Office and is part of a Bodman team that has represented more than one-third of the
start-up and spin-off companies that have recently licensed technology from U of M.

Ms. Leahy’s securities law experience includes representing clients in connection with public and private
securities offerings; preparing registration statements, proxy statements, and periodic reports; and advising
clients generally on their securities law obligations. Ms. Leahy also assists public companies with their NYSE
listing and reporting requirements.

For ICLE, Ms. Leahy has authored materials in the past, on Choosing a Business Entity and moderated a
panel discussion on “Advising the New Startup Company: Formation and Funding” (2013).

Ms. Leahy serves on the board of directors of Inforum Michigan. She is also a board member for the Ann
Arbor/Ypsilanti SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority and a member of the United Way of
Washtenaw County Campaign Cabinet. Ms. Leahy also serves on the board of the Detroit Regional Chamber.
She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section Council.

In 2021, Crain’s Detroit Business honored Ms. Leahy as one of Michigan’s 100 Most Influential Women. Ms.
Leahy has been listed in Chambers USA under Corporate/M&A, in IFLR1000 under Mergers &
Acquisitions, in DBusiness magazine “Top Lawyers” 2022 under Corporate Law and Securities Law,
in Michigan Super Lawyers 2019-22 under Business/Corporate, and in The Best Lawyers in America 2021-23
under Corporate Law.

Lynne Matallana is the Founder of Community Health Focus, Inc. ™ & CEO of its interactive digital health program providing personalized, guided self-care, for women living with chronic pain. In 1997, she founded the National Fibromyalgia Association, raising awareness and improving the quality of life for millions suffering from FM. She raised $20 million & grew the NPO into a leading advocacy force, facilitator of research, provider of CMEs, patient assistance, and became a medium for mass media. As a healthcare strategic visionary, Lynne developed a business model that helps assure better outcomes than our present medical system on its own. PAIN TOOLS ® (previously the Community Pain Center), provides women in pain w/ ways to combine western medicine, with self-care. Her goals include improving patient outcomes through both digital and human touch, which encourages and motivates lifestyle changes, provides socialization and coaching, health tracking & evidenced-based information and resources, as well as vetted products for women in pain. Lynne excels as an entrepreneur due to her passion & unrelenting compassion to help people in pain, and her extensive experience as a successful entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurial, strategic leader producing high-value products & services for consumers and brands. I’m a renaissance man driven by a passion for leading teams, learning, problem-solving, creative expression, and win-win relationships. I believe in the marriage of effective strategy and compelling creative solutions to add value to clients and partners.

Clay founded North Coast Ventures (“NCV”) in 2006 as its Managing Director to provide early-
stage capital to companies in Ohio (initially) and nationally (today). NCV has seven funds with
a current focus on B2B SaaS companies. We have raised over $100M (including member
sidecar investments), have invested in 80 companies, and currently have $60M under active
management. NCV is one of the largest angel groups in the United States with over 440
members.

Clay also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Angel Capital Association, chairing
their Public Policy and Nominating & Governance Committees, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling
Inc. (NYSE) and TPA Stream Inc. (Chair), and over the past 17 years has served on a number
of NCV portfolio company boards. In addition, he serves as a Life Director of the Cleveland
Museum of Natural History and as a Trustee and Executive Committee member of University
Circle Inc., and serves on the Visiting Committee of the Case School of Engineering and the
Corporate Advisory Board for the Master’s Degree in Engineering Management Program at
Case Western Reserve University.

Before NCV, Clay spent the previous nine years as a co-founding partner of Sycamore
Partners, LLC, a company providing services and investment support to early-stage companies.
Prior experience includes serving as President and COO of Bruning Paint Company (consumer
coatings), Vice President of Corporate Development and CFO of Laurel Industries, Inc.
(specialty plastic additives), Director of Marketing for Cleveland Twist Drill Company (cutting tool
division of Acme-Cleveland Corp.), General Manager of XMR Laser Systems, Inc. (the industrial
laser systems subsidiary of Acme-Cleveland Corp.), Senior Associate at McKinsey & Co., and
Commercial Lending Officer for the First National Bank of Boston.

Clay holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business
School. He is married and has three children and seven grandchildren, and interests include
travel, Pilates, photography, woodworking, music and theater.

Chris Rizik is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (www.renvcf.com), a first-of-its-kind network fund formed by a consortium of Fortune 1000 corporations. Renaissance works to invest in and strategically connect venture capital funds and start-up companies with major corporations. Chris is also the founder and publisher of SoulTracks.com, America’s most popular soul music online magazine.

Renaissance has been hailed nationally as a new type of venture capital vehicle: A network fund. Renaissance acts as a fund of funds, investing in top venture capital funds around the country and connecting them and their start-up companies to a network of over 75 major corporations and universities around the US – becoming the center of an innovation network that links cutting edge start-up companies with capital and with the innovation needs of the major corporations. Chris’s work with Renaissance has led to several awards, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Crain’s Detroit Business Newsmaker of the Year, and the Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmakers Hall of Fame. The success of Renaissance in Michigan has resulted in Renaissance assisting in the creation of successful replica funds in Cincinnati (teamed with Procter & Gamble), Houston (with the Greater Houston Partnership), and Milwaukee/Madison, establishing a richer national network of innovation connections and investing.

Prior to Renaissance, Chris was a co-founder and partner in Michigan’s two largest venture
capital investors, nanotechnology holding company Ardesta, LLC, and tech fund Avalon Technology Ventures, and received of four consecutive “Deal of the Year” awards by the Michigan Venture Capital Association. Chris was also a senior partner with Dickinson Wright PLLC, one of the Midwest’s oldest law firms. He began his career with Coopers & Lybrand, after passing the Certified Public Accounting examination.

Chris chairs the Investment Committees of Invest Detroit Ventures and Accelerate Blue, the seed investment fund of the University of Michigan. Chris also serves on the investment committees of the Cintrifuse and Houston Exponential fund of funds, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan. He is also a member of the National Advisory Board of the University of Michigan Office of Innovation Partnerships, and boards or advisory boards of Invest Detroit, The Knight Foundation, Mount Elliott Cemetery Association, and several venture capital funds around the US.

Managing Member of Alfa Jango, co-founder and former CTO of Genomenon, co-founder and
former CTO of Carcode (acquired by Edmunds.com in 2014), engineer, developer, open-source
software enthusiast, guitarist, and racecar driverist.

A runaway Mechanical / Electrical Engineer turned Hacker, Steve has been founding,
developing, and advising software startups and building technical teams for nearly two
decades.

Maintainer of the Ruby on Rails core jQuery UJS driver and jQuery-Rails gem downloaded and
installed millions of times, Steve has also authored popular open source software projects,
including Dynatable.js, and jQuery EasyTabs.

Steve professionally speaks and teaches workshops on software engineering, building startups,
and new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

Professor of Entrepreneurship and Decision Sciences
Director, Center for Venture Research
Director/Founder, Rines Angel Fund
Paul College of Business and Economics
University of New Hampshire

Jeffrey E. Sohl is Director of the Center for Venture Research and Professor of Entrepreneurship and Decision Sciences at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards for Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and Journal of Business Venturing. He previously served on the National Academy of Science Committee on Capitalizing Science, Technology and Innovation (2012-2016), and the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund’s VFG (2002-2016). In 2006 he was awarded the national Hans Severiens Award by the Kauffman Foundation in recognition of his research on angel investing in the US. In 2022 he received the University of New Hampshire’s Distinguished Professor Award for his longstanding career at UNH. He has written over 50 articles which have been published in academic journals. He has presented his research in academic and practitioner forums in North America, Europe and Asia, and in briefings for several government agencies and scholars from North America, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, Asia and Africa.  He has appeared on CNBC, MSNBC,
National Public Radio, NHPTV’s NH Outlook, and has been quoted in Inc., Forbes, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Red Herring, Newsweek, Business Week, Newsweek-Japan, Financial Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and the Financial Times-France.  Jeffrey is also the coordinator of all the Entrepreneurship programs, and the founder and managing director of the Mel Rines Student Angel Investment Fund, at Paul College.

Guy is a Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners and has been with the firm since its beginning in
2011.

Prior to Hyde Park Venture Partners, Guy worked for the Boston Consulting Group where he
focused on corporate strategy across a variety of industries. Previously, he served as an Associate
and Investing Member with Hyde Park Angels, and spent his early career as a mechanical
engineer with Raytheon and General Electric. Guy has led investments in a number of software
companies and manages HPVP’s investments in Dentologie, Investnext, and Fixer, among others.
He writes about venture capital and startups at vcwithme.co.